Iranian LGBTQ refugees are in limbo and waiting for Resettlement in Australia.
in 2019, some Iranian LGBTQ refugee cases were handed to the Australian Embassy in Turkey for resettlement in a safe country. After more than two years many of these LGBTQ refugees are still waiting for a call from the immigration office of Australia.
These LGBTQ refugees are vulnerable and they had to leave Iran because of their situation there. It is very obvious that there is no future for the LGBTQ community in Iran with the current regime in power. As for a fact, when the sexual orientation of a gay man is unveiled, nothing other than a death sentence is expected for him in the Islamic sharia law of Iran. If the family finds out, a threat of an honour killing always hovers above the head of that person. An incident of the latter can be read in Amnesty International’s report: Alireza, an Iranian gay man was decapitated by his family after his sexual orientation was leaked. A year since that monstrous act there is still no legal case opened to find the facts and the perpetrators are at large and have not been punished (read more here).
All the LGBTQ refugees who ask for asylum in Turkey experience a situation similar to what they did in Iran; they face violence from the Turkish society. They do not have medical insurance or the right to work. After two years, a few of these LGBTQ refugees who are waiting for their resettlement have still heard nothing from the government and immigration office of Australia although their cases have been referred to the Australian government by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for resettlement and according to the report from the immigration office of Australia, they are on the priority list. These LGBTQ refugees experience difficult times waiting, and many of them are suffering from mental issues leading some to commit suicide.
By signing this petition, we urge you to be their voice, to help them and ask the Australian government to process their resettlement cases faster.
